Nirvana’s Nevermind overtakes AC/DC’s Back in Black in sales ranking
ChartMasters puts Nevermind sixth on its equivalent album sales chart, which includes streaming. The database cautions that some artists remain unassessed.
Nirvana’s Nevermind has moved into sixth place in ChartMasters’ all-time album ranking, ahead of AC/DC’s Back in Black. The database lists the 1991 Nirvana album at 66,838,000 total equivalent album sales, compared with 66,834,000 for AC/DC’s 1980 release.
The ranking uses equivalent album sales, or EAS, rather than physical album purchases alone. ChartMasters includes streaming in its figures and tracks categories covering albums, physical singles and digital singles. Its total EAS measure is the basis for these positions.
Immediately above Nevermind is Michael Jackson’s 1987 album Bad, with 70,201,000 total EAS. Jackson also holds the top position with Thriller, released in 1982, at 131,264,000. Eagles’ Hotel California ranks second with 74,696,000.
Nevermind’s singles included “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come As You Are,” “Lithium” and “In Bloom.” ChartMasters cautions that its coverage is incomplete: some artists are absent because the database has not yet analyzed their catalogs.
